Plant Physiological Analysis to Overcome Limitations to Plant Phenotyping.

Plant physiological status is the interaction between the plant genome and the prevailing growth conditions. Accurate characterization of plant physiology is, therefore, fundamental to effective plant phenotyping studies; particularly those focused on identifying traits associated with improved yield, lower input requirements, and climate resilience. Here, we outline the approaches used to assess plant physiology and how these techniques of direct empirical observations of processes such as photosynthetic CO assimilation, stomatal conductance, photosystem II electron transport, or the effectiveness of protective energy dissipation mechanisms are unsuited to high-throughput phenotyping applications.

Testing Removal of Carbon Dioxide, Ozone, and Atmospheric Particles by Urban Parks in Italy.

Cities are responsible for more than 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Sequestration of air pollutants is one of the main ecosystem services that urban forests provide to the citizens. The atmospheric concentration of several pollutants such as carbon dioxide (CO), tropospheric ozone (O), and particulate matter (PM) can be reduced by urban trees through processes of adsorption and deposition.

Current and future impacts of drought and ozone stress on Northern Hemisphere forests.

Rising ozone (O ) concentrations, coupled with an increase in drought frequency due to climate change, pose a threat to plant growth and productivity which could negatively affect carbon sequestration capacity of Northern Hemisphere (NH) forests. Using long-term observations of O mixing ratios and soil water content (SWC), we implemented empirical drought and O stress parameterizations in a coupled stomatal conductance-photosynthesis model to assess their impacts on plant gas exchange at three FLUXNET sites: Castelporziano, Blodgett and Hyytiälä. Model performance was evaluated by comparing model estimates of gross primary productivity (GPP) and latent heat fluxes (LE) against present-day observations.

Effects of Fiber Density and Strain Rate on the Mechanical Properties of Electrospun Polycaprolactone Nanofiber Mats.

This study examines the effects of electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) fiber density and strain rate on nanofiber mat mechanical properties. An automated track collection system was employed to control fiber number per mat and promote uniform individual fiber properties regardless of the duration of collection. Fiber density is correlated to the mechanical properties of the nanofiber mats.

Water use strategy affects avoidance of ozone stress by stomatal closure in Mediterranean trees-A modelling analysis.

Both ozone (O ) and drought can limit carbon fixation by forest trees. To cope with drought stress, plants have isohydric or anisohydric water use strategies. Ozone enters plant tissues through stomata.

Ozone and particle fluxes in a Mediterranean forest predicted by the AIRTREE model.

Mediterranean forests are among the most threatened ecosystems by the concurrent effects of climate change and atmospheric pollution. In this work we parameterized the AIRTREE multi-layer model to predict CO, water, ozone, and fine particles exchanges between leaves and the atmosphere. AIRTREE consists of four different modules: (1) a canopy environmental module determines the leaf temperature and radiative fluxes at different levels from above to the bottom of the canopy; (2) a hydrological module predicts soil water flow and water availability to the plant's photosynthetic apparatus; (3) a photosynthesis module estimates the net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance, and (4) a deposition module estimates ozone and PM deposition sinks as a function of the resistances to gas diffusion in the atmosphere, and within the canopy and leaf boundary layer.

Mechanical Considerations for Electrospun Nanofibers in Tendon and Ligament Repair.

Electrospun nanofibers possess unique qualities such as nanodiameter, high surface area to volume ratio, biomimetic architecture, and tunable chemical and electrical properties. Numerous studies have demonstrated the potential of nanofibrous architecture to direct cell morphology, migration, and more complex biological processes such as differentiation and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition through topographical guidance cues. These advantages have created great interest in electrospun fibers for biomedical applications, including tendon and ligament repair.

Ozone flux in plant ecosystems: new opportunities for long-term monitoring networks to deliver ozone-risk assessments.

Ozone (O) is a photochemically formed reactive gas responsible for a decreasing carbon assimilation in plant ecosystems. Present in the atmosphere in trace concentrations (less than 100 ppbv), this molecule is capable of inhibiting carbon assimilation in agricultural and forest ecosystems. Ozone-risk assessments are typically based on manipulative experiments.

Traumatic brain injury induced matrix metalloproteinase2 cleaves CXCL12α (stromal cell derived factor 1α) and causes neurodegeneration.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), even at mild levels, can activate matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the induction of neuroinflammation that can result in blood brain barrier breakdown and neurodegeneration. MMP2 has a significant role in neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration by modulating the chemokine CXCL12α (stromal cell derived factor SDF-1α) signaling pathway and the induction of apoptosis. SDF-1α is responsible for cell proliferation and differentiation throughout the nervous system and is also implicated in various neurodegenerative illnesses.

Particle deposition in a peri-urban Mediterranean forest.

Urban and peri-urban forests provide a multitude of Ecosystem Services to the citizens. While the capacity of removing carbon dioxide and gaseous compounds from the atmosphere has been tested, their capacity to sequestrate particles (PM) has been poorly investigated. Mediterranean forest ecosystems are often located nearby or inside large urban areas.

High Ca Influx During Traumatic Brain Injury Leads to Caspase-1-Dependent Neuroinflammation and Cell Death.

We investigated the hypothesis that high Ca influx during traumatic brain injury induces the activation of the caspase-1 enzyme, which triggers neuroinflammation and cell apoptosis in a cell culture model of neuronal stretch injury and an in vivo model of fluid percussion injury (FPI). We first established that stretch injury causes a rapid increase in the intracellular Ca level, which activates interleukin-converting enzyme caspase-1. The increase in the intracellular Ca level and subsequent caspase-1 activation culminates into neuroinflammation via the maturation of IL-1β.

Many-Body Perturbation Theory Extended to the Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics Approach: Application to Indole in Water Solution.

Optical properties of aromatic chromophores are used to probe complex biological processes, yet how the environment tunes their optical properties is far from being fully understood. Here we present a method to calculate such properties on large-scale systems, like biologically relevant molecules in aqueous solution. Our approach is based on many-body perturbation theory combined with a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) approach.

Electronic structure of surface-supported bis(phthalocyaninato) terbium(III) single molecular magnets.

The electronic structure of isolated bis(phthalocyaninato) terbium(III) molecules, a novel single-molecular-magnet (SMM), supported on the Cu(111) surface has been characterized by density functional theory and scanning tunneling spectroscopy. These studies reveal that the interaction with the metal surface preserves both the molecular structure and the large spin magnetic moment of the metal center. The 4f electron states are not perturbed by the adsorption while a strong molecular/metal interaction can induce the suppression of the minor spin contribution delocalized over the molecular ligands.